Delta Air Lines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Delta Air Lines
IATA DL	ICAO DAL	Callsign DELTA
Founded		1924 (as Uff-Daland Dusters)[1]
Commenced operations		July 17, 1929[1]
Hubs		Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Salt Lake City International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport
Secondary hubs		Los Angeles International Airport
Focus cities		LaGuardia Airport Orlando International Airport Logan International Airport
Frequent flyer program		SkyMiles
Member lounge		Crown Room Club
Alliance		SkyTeam
Subsidiaries		Comair Delta Shuttle Delta AirElite
Fleet size		450 (+50 orders)
Destinations		324
Headquarters		Atlanta, Georgia
Key people		Richard Anderson (CEO) Edward Bastian (President / CFO)
Website: http://www.delta.com

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL) is a United States airline^[2] based and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Delta operates an expansive domestic and international network, spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean. Delta flies to over 332 destinations in 57 countries (excluding codeshare), across 5 continents.^[3] Delta is the only major U.S. carrier that flies to Africa.^[4] On April 14, 2008, Northwest Airlines announced it would be merging with Delta to form the new Delta Air Lines^[5]. Once in place, the "new" Delta would become the world's largest carrier. ^[6]

Contents 1 Overview 2 The company 2.1 Airline operations 2.2 Aviation business related operations, divisions, and subsidiaries 2.3 Former subsidiaries 2.4 Defunct airlines operated by Delta 2.5 Merger with Northwest Airlines 3 History 3.1 Early history 3.2 1970s and 1980s 3.3 1990s 3.4 Fleet transformation in the early 2000s 3.5 Bankruptcy 3.6 Reorganization during bankruptcy 3.7 Failed takeover attempt by US Airways 3.8 Emergence from bankruptcy 3.9 Post-bankruptcy 3.10 Merger with Northwest Airlines 3.11 Hub history 4 Advertising 5 Personnel 6 Destinations 6.1 Significant past route eliminations 6.2 Future destinations 7 Fleet 7.1 Retired fleet 7.2 Fleet prior to the jet era 8 Cabin 8.1 In-flight entertainment 8.2 BusinessElite 8.3 Domestic First Class 8.4 International Economy Class 8.5 Domestic Economy Class 9 SkyMiles 10 Crown Room Club 11 Codeshare agreements 12 Incidents and accidents 12.1 Hijackings 13 References 14 External links

[edit] Overview

Delta operates hubs at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Salt Lake City International Airport, and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport; Delta's Atlanta hub is the largest/busiest airline hub in the world. Delta also maintains a secondary hub at Los Angeles International Airport. Delta has large operations in many other cities, including Boston, Cancun, Fort Lauderdale, New York-LaGuardia, Orlando, and Tampa. Delta is the leading carrier in Florida, and carries more passengers across the Atlantic than any other carrier worldwide. Its major transatlantic gateways are Atlanta, Cincinnati, and New York-JFK. Transatlantic service started in 2008 from Salt Lake City to Paris. Its major Latin American gateways are Atlanta and its rapidly developing hub in Los Angeles.^[7]

In terms of passengers carried (approximately 119 million in 2005),^[8] Delta is the second-largest airline in the world (behind American Airlines). In terms of revenue passenger miles, Delta Air Lines is the third largest airline, after American Airlines and United Airlines. Delta Air Lines serves more destinations than any other airline in the world.^[9] In terms of total operating revenues, Delta is the sixth-largest airline in the world.^[10]

On April 14, 2008, Delta Air Lines announced a long-speculated deal to acquire Northwest Airlines for about $3.1 billion, a combination that will create the world's largest airline and could lead to a series of other deals to reshape the U.S. airline industry.

The new carrier will operate under the Delta name, and be based in Atlanta.

Delta said the carrier will maintain the nine hubs of both airlines in the United States, Europe and Asia, serving more than 390 destinations in 67 countries. The combined carrier will have $35 billion in annual revenue, more than 800 airplanes and 75,000 employees, according to Delta.^[11]

[edit] The company

[edit] Airline operations

• Comair a regional component of Delta Air Lines, Inc., - serves primarily domestic short-haul, low-density, high frequency flights.

• Delta, the "mainline" component of Delta Air Lines, Inc., - serves primarily high-volume domestic flights and long-haul international services

[edit] Aviation business related operations, divisions, and subsidiaries

• Comair, Inc.
• Comair Holdings, LLC
• Comair Services, Inc.
• Crown Rooms, Inc.
• DAL Aircraft Trading, Inc.
• DAL Global Services, LLC
• DAL Moscow, Inc., a 50/50 partnership with Aeroflot
• Delta AirElite Business Jets, Inc.
• Delta Benefits Management, Inc.
• Delta Cargo, Delta's air freight division.
• Delta Connection, a marketing brand given to flights operated by certain regional airlines on short- to mid-haul, low- to mid-volume routes, "connecting" hubs to airports where the larger "mainline" planes would either have a hard time accessing, go unfilled or too infrequently to be profitable.
• Delta Connection Academy, Inc.
• Delta Corporate Identity, Inc.
• Delta DASH, Delta's same-day small package delivery service, part of Delta Cargo.
• Delta Loyalty Management Services, LLC
• Delta Shuttle, which operates high frequency, short-haul service using McDonnell Douglas MD-88s configured with a single-class cabin. The flights operate between LaGuardia Airport and Logan International Airport; and between LaGuardia Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Delta Shuttle operates with the same operating certificate, callsign, IATA, and ICAO codes as Delta Air Lines, Inc., unlike Delta Connection branded sub-fleets flown by other certificated regional airlines.
• Delta Technology, LLC
• Delta Ventures III, LLC
• Epsilon Trading, Inc.
• Kappa Capital Management, Inc.

[edit] Former subsidiaries

• ASA Holdings
• Song, LLC

[edit] Defunct airlines operated by Delta

• Delta Express began service in October 1996 in an attempt by Delta to compete with low cost airlines on leisure-oriented routes. Its main base of operations was Orlando International Airport and it used Boeing 737-200 aircraft. It ceased operations in November, 2003 after Song was established.
• Song began service on April 15, 2003 as a single-class airline operated by Delta to compete directly with JetBlue Airways from both airlines' hubs at New York-JFK. While the brand was considered a successful addition to the Northeast-to-Florida market, financially the airline suffered. As a result, on May 1, 2006, Song was folded in to the Delta mainline brand. The "Song" entertainment system will remain in place on certain long-haul domestic flights. Additionally, all former "Song" aircraft have been reconfigured to accommodate 26 First/158 Economy passengers. These aircraft are now focused primarily on trans-continental flights from JFK and ATL. Song used Boeing 757 aircraft.

As a historical footnote, Western Airlines was acquired on December 16, 1986, and was operated as a separate airline by Delta for over three months.^[12] In a case by a union to stop the workforce integration, the U.S. Supreme Court wrote "On December 16, 1986, shareholder approval of the merger was confirmed and Western Airlines became a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta."^[13] The changeover date for discontinuation of the Western Airlines brand and the date for merger of the two airlines' workforce was April 1, 1987, but for several months before that Delta had acquired Western and was operating it as a separate airline.^[14]

[edit] Merger with Northwest Airlines

Main article: Delta Air Lines-Northwest Airlines merger

On April 15, 2008 the US airlines Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines announced a merger. ^[15] If the merger succeeds, it will form the largest commercial airline in the world. ^[16] The deal has to receive approval from the US government before it can be made official.

The merger discussions were first reported in January. ^[17] News reports covering the event and the official press release reported that the new airline will use the Delta name.^[18]

[edit] History

[edit] Early history

The company has its roots in Huff Daland Dusters, which was founded on May 30, 1924 in Macon, Georgia, by several partners including Collett E. Woolman becoming the world's first aerial crop dusting company. Huff Daland moved to Monroe, Louisiana the following year. On September 13, 1928, Huff Daland Dusters was purchased by C.E. Woolman and renamed Delta Air Service after the Mississippi Delta, where its route connected Dallas, Texas to Jackson, Mississippi, via Shreveport and Monroe. The original directors of Delta Air Service were C.H. McHenry, Travis Oliver, and M.S. Biedenharn. By 1934, Delta began mail service from Charleston, SC to Fort Worth, with stops in Columbia, SC, Augusta, Atlanta, Birmingham, and Meridian along the way.^[19]

In 1941, Delta moved its headquarters from Monroe to Atlanta, to center itself along its new route network that now stretched to Chicago, Miami, and New Orleans. The logo for Monroe Regional Airport is based on the Delta logo, in honor of it being the airline's birthplace and the original headquarters for Delta.

In 1953, Delta purchased the Chicago and Southern Air Lines, and flew under the name Delta C&S for the next two years. ^[20]

Delta was the launch operator of the Douglas DC-8, which began service in 1959, and the Convair CV-880 in 1960. The DC-8's graceful swept-wing design inspired Delta to come up with a new red, white, and blue delta-shaped logo (the "widget"). Just a few years later, Delta became the launch operator of the Douglas DC-9. By 1970, Delta was an all jet airline.

[edit] 1970s and 1980s

In 1970, Delta entered the "wide-body" jet era with the purchase of five Boeing 747s to service its new long-haul high density routes. The initial route was a Los Angeles-Dallas Love Field-Atlanta routing. Delta also had an interchange with Pan Am using Delta 747 to fly to London Heathrow Airport. However, with the economic slowdown of the early 1970s, Delta found the aircraft too large for its routes and it sold them a few years later. Shortly thereafter, Delta leased five DC-10s from United Airlines as a stopgap until its larger order of the new Lockheed L-1011 TriStars could be delivered.

Delta purchased Northeast Airlines in 1972 to strengthen its market share in the northeastern United States. Through the purchase, Delta began its long Boeing 727 operation.

In 1973, the Lockheed TriStar entered service for Delta. Delta placed these aircraft in international service from Atlanta to London in 1978; Frankfurt was added the following year. Delta's fast growth showed in August 1979 when it became the first airline in the world to board one million passengers in one city in one month (Atlanta).

Delta launched Delta Air Express in 1975, the first "high-priority, guaranteed cargo service"^[21].

Delta launched its first frequent flyer program in 1981 which became the SkyMiles program in 1995. In 1983, Delta took delivery of its first Boeing 767-200, named the Spirit of Delta, which was paid for "by voluntary contributions from employees, retirees and Delta's community partners." The effort, called Project 767, was spearheaded by three Delta flight attendants to show the employees' appreciation to Delta for solid management and strong leadership during the first years following airline deregulation."^[22] The airplane remained the flagship of the Delta fleet until 2006, and was repainted in a commemorative paint scheme and toured the country to celebrate the airline's 75th anniversary in 2004.^[23]

In 1984, the company established the Delta Connection partnership linking local "feeder" airlines that served mid-size population areas to Delta nodes. The same year, Delta began its first flight to Hawaii (Honolulu International Airport) with L-1011 aircraft. Also in 1984, Delta began to offer the nation's first public air-to-ground telephone system with Airfone, on the L-1011. Delta was named 'Official Airline of Walt Disney World' in 1986, and its official ride in the Magic Kingdom was Delta Dreamflight, and was discontinued in the late 1990s when Delta's partnership with Walt Disney World ended.

In 1987, Delta merged with Western Airlines of Los Angeles and absorbed its large hubs at Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. Through these acquisitions and expansions Delta became the fourth largest U.S. carrier and fifth largest world carrier. Also in 1987, Ronald W. Allen became chairman and CEO.

[edit] 1990s

In 1990, Delta became the first U.S. airline to operate the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft ^[24], leasing two from Mitsui. Delta operated 15 MD-11s. Delta's most dramatic expansion (at that time) came with its purchase of Pan Am's European routes in 1991 which included all north Atlantic routes except Miami to London and Paris, and the Frankfurt, Germany hub, after Pan Am declared bankruptcy. The purchase gave Delta the largest transatlantic route network, a fleet of 21 Airbus A310 aircraft, and the Worldport (Terminal 3) at JFK. Due to these acquisitions, Delta became and remains today the largest U.S. transatlantic carrier, in terms of passengers carried and number of flights operated. Delta also acquired Pan Am's northeastern shuttle, inheriting of a number of Boeing 727s, and forming what is today Delta Shuttle.

In 1991, as one of the conditions for Delta's financial support of Pan Am, Delta had the rights to use the Pan Am name on flights across the Atlantic. Delta obtained all of Pan Am's remaining transatlantic rights, except Miami to Paris and London, in November, 1991, including the route from Detroit to London, despite Northwest Airlines' objections. It was an unusual route for Delta given its small presence in Detroit, and Northwest's correspondingly larger operations.^[25] Northwest later attempted to buy US Air's (now US Airways) Baltimore-London route for $5 million and transfer the route to Detroit^[26] but ended up buying the route from Delta in 1995^[27] for a rumored $32 million. The naming right was never exercised even though the Pan Am name was a much more widely recognized name in Europe than Delta. Within weeks after the route and asset transfers were complete, Delta ended its financial support, which led to Pan Am ceasing operations on December 4, 1991.^[28]

After withdrawing its agreed upon financial support, which would have allowed Pan Am to continue with a hub in MIA, Delta was sued for more than $2.5 billion on December 9, 1991 by the Pan Am Creditors Committee. ^[29] Shortly thereafter, a large group of former Pan Am employees also sued Delta. Delta was able to combine and move the cases from New York to Atlanta. Delta was also able to prevent a jury trial, which, according to Business Week magazine, its attorneys had stated it would likely lose. The Atlanta judge then dismissed the lawsuits.

In 1995, responding to Qantas and American Airlines innovation of codeshare agreements, Delta established its own code sharing arrangements with Swissair, Sabena, and Austrian Airlines, which launched Atlantic Excellence, disbanded in 2000, for codesharing with Air France which led to the Skyteam alliance.

By 1997, during which Leo Mullin was named CEO, Delta began large expansions into Latin America and in 1999 introduced the Boeing 777 into its fleet, for longer non-stop flights. During Mullin's tenure, Delta saw large expansions into Latin America and the Caribbean. This was also known as Delta's "technological growth period".^{[citation needed]} Airport kiosks were introduced, Delta Technology was developed into an industry leading technology division,^{[citation needed]} gate information display screens (GIDS) were rolled out, and internal software was thoroughly revamped. However, Mullin's legacy was ruined by labor woes, huge losses in the post-9/11 period, a major executive compensation scandal, and a bankruptcy filing less than 18 months after he abruptly retired.

Throughout the 1990s, Delta maintained a secondary hub at Portland for its Asia operations. In addition to regularly scheduled flights to Delta's primary hubs during this time (Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas, and Salt Lake City), several of Delta's flights to Asia were routed from Portland and Los Angeles, using L-1011 and MD-11 aircraft. Destinations included Bangkok, Fukuoka, Hong Kong, Manila, Nagoya, Seoul, Taipei, and Tokyo. Delta was one of the airlines targeted in the failed Operation Bojinka plot: the conspirators planned to bomb a Delta MD-11 flying from Seoul to Bangkok via Taipei on January 21, 1995. Today, all Asia operations from Portland and Los Angeles have ceased. Asian service is offered from Delta’s Atlanta and New York – JFK hubs to Mumbai, India; Toyko, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; and Shanghai, China (effective March 30, 2008).^[30][31]

In 1996, Delta carried the Olympic Torch from Athens, Greece where it was lit, to Los Angeles, California for its traditional circuit to the Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, GA for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, of which Delta was the official airline.

In 1998, Delta and United Airlines introduced a marketing partnership that included a reciprocal redemption agreement between SkyMiles and Mileage Plus programs and shared lounges.^[32] This scheme allowed members of either frequent flier program to earn miles on both carriers and utilize both carriers' lounges. Delta and United attempted to introduce an even cozier codeshare relationship, but this was deal was effectively killed by ALPA.^[33] The marketing partnership ended in divorce in 2003 and paved the way for an expansion of the SkyTeam alliance.

In 1999, Delta was a founding partner of the online travel agency Orbitz originally began by a group of several major U.S. airlines, which was purchased by Cendant in 2004.

SkyTeam, a global alliance, was created in 2000 and Delta partnered with AeroMéxico, Air France, and Korean Air. Three years later, Delta implemented the largest domestic codeshare alliance with Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines. Today SkyTeam now the second largest airline alliance in the world and continues to add members to its ranks.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Fleet transformation in the early 2000s

In an effort to simplify its fleet and capitalize on cross-platform compatibility not only in pilot training but also maintenance, the airline began to retire its trijets (three-engine planes) in favor of twinjets (two-engine planes). Delta's entire active fleet is now composed of twinjets, and the airline is the world's largest operator of 767 aircraft:

• The Lockheed L-1011, for many years the workhorse of the Delta fleet, numbering as high as 56 aircraft in service. The last L-1011 (N728DA) was retired on July 31, 2001. The final flight operated as Flight #1949 from Orlando to Atlanta, and received a huge display of bittersweet fanfare from Delta employees, Hartsfield International Airport Fire/Rescue, and aviation enthusiasts, many of whom took the day off from work, or school to attend the historic final flight. The big Lockheeds were replaced with the Boeing 767-400.
• The airline's many Boeing 727s were completely replaced with Boeing 737-800s in 2003.
• Delta operated its last MD-11 flight on January 1, 2004, operating as Flight 56 from New Tokyo International Airport (now Narita International Airport) at 4:45pm. The aircraft arrived in Atlanta at 3:20pm. This concluded the MD-11s relatively short service in the fleet. MD-11 aircraft have been replaced with Boeing 777-200ERs. On September 23, 2004, a Delta spokesperson confirmed plans to sell eight MD-11s to FedEx. The remainder MD-11s were sold to World Airways for charter use, and some were converted to freighters for UPS.

[edit] Bankruptcy

As early as 2004, in an effort to avoid bankruptcy, Delta announced a restructuring of the company that included job cuts, and an aggressive expansion of Atlanta operations by some 100 new flights, making it a 'super-hub' and requiring the airline to spread its flight schedule more evenly across the day.^[34] This was known to all Delta employees as "Operation Clockwork". Further, by mid-2004 the airline had announced it would be closing its fourth busiest hub (Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport), which it did on January 31, 2005. In a hugely concessionary move, the pilots at Delta agreed to across-the-board 32.5% reductions in hourly pay rates in order to help the company stave off a bankruptcy filing. The agreement also included numerous changes in work rules, granting the company efficiencies in staffing and scheduling.

On January 5, 2005, Delta introduced SimpliFares, a radical transformation of its fare structure, which cut its most expensive fares by as much as 50 percent nationwide and capped one-way domestic fares at $499 in coach class and $599 first class. However, due to continued high fuel costs, the company was forced to raise these fare caps by $100 in July, 2005, to $599 in coach class and $699 in first class. Airline fares are constantly in a state of flux, in addition to the constant change in fares due to the selling of seats allocated for lower fares. However, some claim that the SimpliFare is simply a marketing technique to alert the public that there is a maximum ceiling price for Delta's fares.^{[citation needed]} Delta also launched a system of "same-day confirmed" whereby for $25, a passenger is able to confirm a seat on a different flight instead of standing-by. in August 2007, the "same-day confirmed" fee increased to $50.

Also in 2005, in an attempt to increase profitability, Delta applied to serve a daily non-stop flight from Atlanta to Beijing, China starting in March, 2006, but rights were instead awarded to American Airlines operating from Chicago to Shanghai and Continental Airlines operating from Newark to Beijing.

On August 15, 2005, in an SEC filing, Delta announced that it had finalized a deal to sell Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines for $425 million in cash to SkyWest Airlines in an effort to obtain money to avoid bankruptcy. Analysts called the move a desperate one, estimating ASA's worth at around $700-$800 million — a price which SkyWest would not have been willing to pay.^[35]

On September 7, 2005, Delta announced that it would cut 26% of its flights at its Cincinnati hub and redeploy aircraft to its hubs in Atlanta and Salt Lake City.^[36] The move will ultimately eliminate up to 1,000 jobs in Cincinnati. In addition and in hopes of increasing profit yields, the airline announced further international expansion into Europe and Latin America.

On September 14, 2005, Delta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the first time in its 76-year history. The company cited high labor costs and record-breaking jet fuel prices as factors in its filing. At the time of the filing, Delta had $20.5 billion in debt, $10 billion of which accumulated since January 2001.

[edit] Reorganization during bankruptcy

On September 22, 2005, Delta announced the acceleration of restructuring activities, targeting an additional $3 billion per year in cost reductions by 2007. $970 million of this amount was to come from debt relief, lease and facility savings, and previously commenced fleet modifications. Non-union workers' salaries were to be reduced by a minimum of 9% across the board, with a 15% reduction for executive officers and a 25% pay cut for CEO Gerald Grinstein. In December 2005, the Delta pilots agreed to an additional temporary 14% cut in pay, piggybacking onto the 32.5% taken at the beginning of 2005. This cut was made permanent with the ratification of an agreement in June 2006. Additionally, the company planned to lay off between 7,000 and 9,000 of its 52,000 employees.^[37]

As for its route network, Delta planned to alter its structure by reinforcing hub presence in Atlanta, Cincinnati, New York, and Salt Lake City, while at the same time increasing point-to-point routes, reducing domestic capacity by up to 20% while growing more profitable international route (especially Asia, Caribbean and Europe) capacity up to 25%.

In 2006, Delta purchased rights to fly between New York and London from United Airlines.^[38]

On February 24, 2006, Delta, along with Continental Airlines and FedEx, saw future operations to Venezuela severely affected by President Hugo Chávez's decision to restrict flights coming into that South American country from the United States.^[39] As of March 23, 2006, U.S. and Venezuelan aviation authorities were able to negotiate a solution to their dispute, likely ensuring that Delta's operations to Venezuela would not be curtailed in the future.

On March 7, 2006, Delta announced expanded service from its prominent hub at New York-JFK. In addition to the expansion of mainline service at the airport, Delta would partner with Mesa Air Group to provide regional flights throughout the northeast under the Delta Connection banner. At the same time the airline announced an expansion to a number of new cities from its Salt Lake City hub.

Based on all of these new initiatives, Delta projected a return to profitability by late 2007, based on a crude oil price model of $66 per barrel, in contrast to other bankrupt carriers' restructuring modeled on $55 per barrel. Delta would eventually reach this goal of full year profitability in 2007^[40].

Delta announced that coach travelers in the United States who have a flight longer than four hours will have on-demand programming on all those flights starting in 2007 at its main hubs in New York, Salt Lake City, and Atlanta. This was to counter entertainment offerings of other airlines like JetBlue Airways, and take place of Song Airlines' service. Delta claims to offer the leading in-flight entertainment system in the United States. Live programming and music are free, and movies will be available on demand for a nominal fee in coach and for free in first class.^[41] Delta also intends to install an improved in-flight entertainment system on internationally-configured aircraft, featuring a personal selection of movies. The system will be installed in all classes on Boeing 767-400ER and 777-200ER aircraft, and in the BusinessElite section on Boeing 767-300ER aircraft.^[42]

On November 9, 2006, the airline announced that it would recall 1,000 flight attendants that were previously laid off. In addition to the flight attendant recall, Delta announced in late December 2006 that it had exhausted its pilot recall list and was now accepting pilot applications for the first time in 5 years. They expected to take on close to 200 first officers through 2007.^[43]

On January 4, 2007, the airline announced an order for 30 Bombardier CRJ-900 regional jets with an option for 30 additional aircraft, pending approval of the bankruptcy court judge.^[44] On February 9, 2007, the airline received bankruptcy court approval to buy these aircraft as planned. These aircraft will be operated by Delta Connection.

[edit] Failed takeover attempt by US Airways

During the later part of 2006 and early 2007, US Airways Group, holding company for US Airways, proposed an acquisition of Delta Air Lines. The combined entity would have been operated under the Delta name. This attempt was withdrawn after failing to gain support from Delta's major creditors and opposition by Delta management.

On November 15, 2006, Bloomberg reported that US Airways Group, the parent of US Airways, proposed a takeover of Delta for $8 billion in cash and stock.^[45] However, Delta's CEO reiterated that the best interests of Delta and its creditors were served by the company emerging from bankruptcy as an independent, stand alone carrier. In the ensuing days, Delta mounted an aggressive defense against the takeover attempt.

In addition to Delta management, Delta employees appeared to be extremely skeptical of US Airways management's claims that a merger would result in no job reductions and provide a more secure future for a combined entity. Employees had started wearing "Keep Delta My Delta" buttons and campaigning to raise public awareness of their opposition to the proposed takeover.^[46]

On December 19, 2006, Delta announced (as expected) it rejected US Airways Group's proposed merger. Along with the announcement, it launched a media campaign against the merger to raise public support. The campaign, "Keep Delta My Delta", was picked up from the employee grassroots effort of the same name. The effort's website harbored an e-petition, quotes from prominent dissidents, and the effects the merger could have on selected localities. In its report, Delta cited many reasons for rejecting the bid, including it would lead to worse customer service, possible layoffs, an inefficient carrier, the carrier with the largest debt-load in the industry, and near-monopoly powers.^[47]

On December 20, 2006, Delta and its financial advisor, the Blackstone Group, declared that Delta would be valued at between $9.4 billion and $12 billion after emerging from bankruptcy, which would (at the time of this writing) give it a market capitalization comparable to that of Southwest Airlines Co. or greater than that of American Airlines' AMR Corp. and Continental Airlines, Inc. combined. US Airways Group CEO Doug Parker stated that Delta's self-valuation lacked credibility and was unrealistic.^[48] Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein retorted by stating that the Tempe-based airline was "the worst of all potential merger partners".^[49]

On January 10, 2007, US Airways raised its bid by 20%, to $10.2 billion. The revised offer was set to expire by February 1 unless Delta's creditors opened the airline's books to US Airways and delayed a scheduled February 7 court hearing pertaining to Delta's reorganization plan.^[50] Delta responded with a statement, claiming that "...the revised proposal does not address significant concerns that have been raised about the initial US Airways proposal and, in fact, would increase the debt burden of the combined company by yet another $1 billion."^[51] That same day Delta Air Lines was speculated to be in talks with Northwest Airlines and United Airlines to fend off the US Airways bid.^[52] CEO Gerald Grinstein, however, denied that any serious negotiatons were ongoing with Northwest or any other airline.^[53]

On January 28, 2007, US Airways holding company raised its bid by another $1 billion according to the Wall Street Journal,^[54] but company spokesmen denied any change.^[55] On January 31, 2007, Delta's creditors rejected US Airways' hostile takeover attempt, and US Airways withdrew its offer to buy Delta. On the same day, executives and employees of the company gathered to celebrate the re-lighting of the historic "FLY DELTA JETS" sign at the company's main hub, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.^[56][57]

[edit] Emergence from bankruptcy

On April 25, 2007, the airline's bankruptcy plan was approved by the Bankruptcy Court. On April 30, 2007, Delta Air Lines emerged from bankruptcy protection as an independent carrier. Delta also unveiled a new logo and new paint scheme. Delta's bankruptcy exit strategy was vastly different from that of United in that it expanded its way out of bankruptcy, rather than retrenching^{[citation needed]}.

Delta's previous stock was canceled as of Monday, April 30, 2007, and new shares are trading on a "when issued" basis on the New York Stock Exchange. These shares began trading normally on Thursday, May 3, 2007. The starting price was around $20.00 a share, and went up to as high as $23.35. But investors showed little confidence in the stock as the price fell to $19.00 later in the week. ^[58]

Upon exiting bankruptcy, Delta also announced a 50% increase in operations at Los Angeles International Airport^[59], thus establishing Los Angeles as Delta's second Latin America hub and new potential Asian gateway with a total of 99 daily departures.

[edit] Post-bankruptcy

On May 10, 2007, Delta announced a partnership with US Helicopter, who provides service from John F. Kennedy International Airport to several helipads in downtown Manhattan.^[60]

On July 12, 2007, Delta and its SkyTeam partners announced that they would forfeit slots in the European Union to relieve antitrust concerns.^[61]

On August 21, 2007, Delta named Richard Anderson, former CEO of Northwest Airlines and executive at UnitedHealth Group, as a replacement for outgoing CEO Gerald Grinstein. Anderson assumed the post on September 1.^[62]

On November 14, 2007, Pardus Capital Management LP, a hedge fund that owns 7 million shares of Delta and 5.6 million shares of United, called for the two carriers to merge. This action sent shares of both airlines up. However, the two airlines quickly denied official talks of any merger.^{[63] [64] [65]}

[edit] Merger with Northwest Airlines

Main article: Delta Air Lines-Northwest Airlines merger

On January 15, 2008, Delta Air Lines was reported to be in merger talks with Northwest Airlines and United Airlines.^[66] Although each airline declined to comment officially, many notable newspapers, as well as industry analysts, expected an announcement as early as mid-February 2008 as to which airline the Delta Board of Directors would like to pursue a merger. Delta asserted that it would retain its name and its Atlanta hub in any merger, possibly as the surviving airline.^[67] By late February 2008 the merger discussions with Northwest Airlines appeared to have broken down over pilot seniority issues.^[68]

On March 18, 2008, Delta announced that it was offering voluntary severance payouts for up to 30,000 employees (though the target headcount reduction is significantly less than that), and that it would cut domestic capacity by 5%.^[69]

On April 14, 2008, both Delta and Northwest Airlines announced that they would merge to create the world's largest airline, when including Northwest's partner, KLM. The Atlanta-based combined airline will have $17.7 billion enterprise value. The company also stated on April 14, 2008 that it agreed with its pilot union to extend the existing collective bargaining agreement through the end of 2012. The agreement, subject to a vote by the pilots, provides Delta pilots a 3.5 percent equity stake in the created new airline.^[70]

[edit] Hub history

Former hubs:

• Chicago O'Hare International Airport - Delta, until the early 1990s, operated a small hub at Chicago. It served thirteen non-stop destinations from its new Delta Flight Center, which opened in the summer of 1984. During this time Delta also maintained a flight attendant base in Chicago.
• Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport - Delta at one time operated over 200 flights a day from DFW. At times, it was Delta's second largest hub. Delta closed the hub in February 2005.
• Frankfurt International Airport - Delta's Frankfurt hub was acquired from Pan Am. Delta dismantled the hub in 1997.
• Los Angeles International Airport - LAX is re-emerging as a Delta focus city/ gateway. The expansion is slowing due to fuel prices and Delta has announced the expansion at LAX will go from 15% to 2%. Delta has 86 flights per day from LAX, giving it a market share of 7.7%, which is a distant fourth behind United Airlines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines.^[71]

Former secondary hubs:^[72]

• Portland International Airport - Portland, Oregon (PDX) was at one time Delta's premier Asian gateway. It was closed in 2001, further described in the 'route eliminations' section of this article.

[edit] Advertising

Delta has had several different slogans throughout its history:

• In 1940, Delta adopted the slogan: "Airline of the South".
• In 1961, Delta adopted the slogan: "The Air Line with the Big Jets".
• In 1966, with the introduction of the first Series 61 DC-8, Delta adopted the slogan "Fly big to Florida... Fly Delta!". Bob Hope, known in ads as Bob "Super DC-8" Hope, was Delta's spokesperson at the time.
• In 1968, Delta adopted the slogan: "Delta is ready when you are".
• In 1972, Delta adopted the slogan: "Fly the best with Delta".
• In 1976, Delta adopted the slogan: "Celebrate the Bicentennial with Delta".
• In 1980, Delta adopted the slogan: "Delta is the Best".
• In the interim period between 1984 and 1986 Delta adopted the slogan: "Delta gets you there with care".
• In 1986, Delta became: "The Official Airline of Walt Disney World".
• In 1987, Delta adopted the slogan: "The Best Get Better", reflective of the airline's merger with Western Airlines.
• In 1987, Delta adopted the slogan: "We Love To Fly, And It Shows".
• In 1989, Delta became: "The Official Airline of Disneyland and Walt Disney World".
• In 1991, Delta adopted the slogan: "Delta is your choice for flying."
• In 1994, Delta adopted the slogan: "You'll love the way we fly".
• In 1996, Delta adopted the slogan: "On top of the world". This slogan was launched at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, for which Delta was the official airline.
• In 2000, Delta adopted the slogan: "Fly___", in which the blank was filled in according to the context of the slogan's usage. For example, on the airline's cocktail napkins, the slogan was "Fly 'refreshed'". For luggage tags, the slogan read "Fly 'for business'" or "Fly 'me home'".
• Immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Delta adopted the slogan, "Delta remembers America".
• In 2004, Delta adopted a marketing scheme using "Secret Places - ___", in which the blank was filled in according to the picture being used in the advertisement (and coinciding with a major Delta destination). Several examples of this marketing remain in place on jetways and in gate waiting areas in Atlanta and New York-JFK.
• In 2005, Delta adopted the slogan: "Good Goes Around"^[73]
• In 2007, Delta Air Lines exited bankruptcy; to highlight surrounding changes, the airline chose "Change Is:__________" (in which the blank was filled according to the context of the slogan's usage) as its slogan. Other advertisements used the tagline "Change Is: Delta" in a play on the use of the Greek letter delta to denote the difference operator in mathematics.
• In 2008, as part of the rebranding project and not a traditional advertising campaign, a new safety video featuring a flight attendant premiered on YouTube in early 2008 garnering almost 1 million hits and the attention of news outlets, specifically for the video's camp and cheek tones mixed with the serious safety message. The flight attendant, Katherine Lee, has been dubbed "Deltalina" by the media for her similar appearance to movie star Angelina Jolie. ^{[74] [75] [76] [77]}

Karl Jenkins' Adiemus project began in 1994 as a music project for Delta Air Lines' European advertising campaign. The song was later released on the albums Pure Moods and Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary, and was also used in Delta's commercials in the United States from 1996 until 1999.^{[citation needed]}

Delta awards the annual Delta Prize for Global Understanding in conjunction with the University of Georgia.^[78]

[edit] Personnel

Between its mainline operation and subsidiaries, Delta employs approximately 48,000 people.

Delta's approximately 7,000 pilots are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). The union has represented Delta pilots since 1940.^[79] Pilot domiciles are located in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, New York City, and Salt Lake City.

The company's approximately 350 flight dispatchers are represented by the Professional Airline Flight Control Association (PAFCA).

The rest of Delta's workforce, in contrast to other legacy air carriers, is nonunion.

[edit] Destinations

Further information: Delta Air Lines destinations

• Delta (including its wholly owned subsidiary Comair, Inc. and regional service carriers), serves 240 domestic cities in 49 states. The airline also serves Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, in addition to 57 countries.

• Delta is the only airline in the world to serve over 300 destinations--310 in total.^[3]

• Delta operates 1,632 flights per day.^[80]

[edit] Significant past route eliminations

Airline routes occasionally change as the public's travel patterns change and if a route becomes unprofitable. Although Delta serves the most destinations of any US airline, it has also eliminated the most destinations of any major US airline as well. Some routes that have been eliminated include:

• Delta served several cities in Asia, including Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Taipei, from Portland and Los Angeles, using L1011s with stops in Anchorage for refueling.
• With Delta's acquisition of Pan Am's Frankfurt hub, a number of new routes started to the city, including San Francisco, Orlando, Los Angeles, and Dallas-Fort Worth. The hub at Frankfurt would eventually be closed.
• Tag end services between medium sized cities in the southern United States to the Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth hubs have been superseded by nonstop Delta Connection service to the hub cities. Discontinued services have included Shreveport-Monroe and Birmingham-Jackson, Mississippi.
• Closure of the Dallas-Fort Worth hub, created after Braniff Airlines ceased operations in 1982, in 2005 as noted elsewhere in this article.
• Closure of gateway facilities in Portland, Oregon (PDX) including a cargo facility, which served Delta destinations in Asia.
• Expansion of Western Airlines' Los Angeles hub service after acquisition of that airline, including the starting of a Tokyo-Los Angeles route using the then-new MD-11 aircraft. After 2000 flights were significantly reduced including elimination of Tokyo-Los Angeles. In 2006/2007, Delta started adding new routes out of LAX through its connection carriers, signaling a build up of LAX again.
• Delta acquired several routes to Honolulu (HNL) with the purchase of Western Airlines. These services from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City operated initially on Western's DC-10 aircraft, and later on the L-1011 and 767-400 including a nonstop from Atlanta. In 2007 Delta eliminated the San Francisco-Honolulu route and withdrew some 767-400 service Los Angeles-Honolulu in favor of smaller aircraft.

[edit] Future destinations

• Delta is focusing flying more direct routes overseas and will also target the business traveler. In addition to Shanghai and London-Heathrow, Delta will seek routes to Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and another frequency to Japan.^[81]

• Delta announced that it has applied to the US Department of Transportation to begin nonstop flights to Bogotá, Colombia from New York-JFK and to both Cali and Medellín from Atlanta. These routes are currently subject to US government approval.^[82]

• Delta will begin direct service from ATL to Santiago, Dominican Republic starting in December 20, 2008.^[83]

• Delta has begun inquiries with Boeing to find ways of increasing the range of the Boeing 777-200LR. The added range would allow Delta to pursue a non-stop flight from either Atlanta or JFK to Sydney, Australia.^[84]

• Delta is reportedly expressing interest in restarting non-stop service to Warsaw, Poland. Service would most likely be from New York-JFK.^[85]

• Delta will begin four weekly flights from ATL to Kuwait City, Kuwait on November 7, 2008.^[86]

• Delta applied to the US DOT to begin nonstop flights from New York-JFK to Buenos Aires; these route is currently awaiting government approval^[87].

[edit] Fleet

Delta Air Lines has an all-Boeing (including McDonnell Douglas aircraft) fleet. Delta was one of the last major airlines to operate the original Boeing 737-200 models, until the last of these aircraft retired in 2006. Delta has the largest fleets of Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 aircraft of any airline. It is the second largest operator of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 (behind American Airlines).

Delta Air Lines is the only MD-90 operator in the Western Hemisphere,^[88]. Initially, Delta had a large order for MD-90s to replace the Boeing 727 fleet. After McDonnell-Douglas was acquired by Boeing, Delta canceled its remaining MD-90s on order and ordered the longer-range Boeing 737-800 instead, but has hinted it may acquire some second-hand MD-90s (possibly from China Southern Airlines) for domestic expansion at Salt Lake City International Airport, thus freeing 737-800s for longer routes from Delta's other hubs.

All sixteen MD-90 Delta aircraft are based at the Salt Lake City hub. This is because the MD-88 has smaller, more slender low-bypass Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219 engines making it more difficult for them to depart on the hot, dry summer days in Salt Lake City. Therefore, the MD-90s with its more powerful high-bypass International Aero V2525-D5 engines are used.^[89] Some MD-90s were also based at Delta's former Dallas-Fort Worth hub until the hub closed in 2005.

Delta's Boeing 737-800 airplanes have an empty area in the rear cabin where seats are normally located. Not placing seats in this area results in a reduction of capacity to 150 seats, reducing the number of FAA mandated flight attendants to three (one flight attendant is required for every fifty passenger seats by the FAA).^[90] This seat reduction was done after 9/11 to reduce costs; however, Delta has backtracked on this decision, and will increase the capacity of the 737-800 fleet to 160 passengers by using slimline seats.

Delta took delivery of its first Boeing 777-200LR in February 2008.^[91] This plane was named the "Delta Spirit" and dedicated to the employees of Delta on March 6, 2008. The 777 will fly a non-stop Atlanta to Tokyo route.^[92] It was the carrier's first delivery in over six years. Delta plans to take near term delivery of six more 200LR aircraft for Asian routes from its Atlanta and New York hubs, particularly New York to Mumbai.^[93]

The Delta Air Lines fleet consists of the following aircraft and orders:

Delta Air Lines fleet

Aircraft	Total	Passengers (First*/Economy)	Routes	Notes
Boeing 737-700	(10 orders)	124 (12/112)	Domestic/international medium haul US and Mexico	Entry into service: August 2008
Boeing 737-800	71 (34 orders)	Old configuration 150 (16/134) ———————— New configuration 160 (16/144)	Domestic short-long haul US, Mexico and Caribbean	28 aircraft to be equipped with winglets Capacity to be increased by 10 seats
Boeing 757-200	135	Standard 183 (24/159) ———————— Transcontinental 184 (26/158) ———————— ETOPS/international Old configuration: 180 (22/158) New configuration: 174 (16/158)	Domestic/international medium-long haul US transcontinental Caribbean, Latin America, Puerto Rico, Transatlantic (ETOPS aircraft)	17 leased ETOPS aircraft formerly flown by TWA/AA ETOPS aircraft feature winglets BusinessElite seats to be installed on all ETOPS 757s Largest operator of the Boeing 757
Boeing 767-300	21	Old configuration 250 (24/226) ———————— New configuration 262 (24/238)	Domestic medium-long haul US transcontinental Hawaii, Latin America, and Puerto Rico	Capacity to be increased by 12 seats. 4 aircraft converted to ETOPS standards Largest operator of the Boeing 767
Boeing 767-300ER	59	Standard 217 (36/181) ———————— Ex-Gulf Air 216 (30/186)	Domestic/international medium-long haul Transatlantic and South America	30 aircraft to be equipped with winglets (2009) Largest operator of the Boeing 767
Boeing 767-400ER	21	Domestic 285 (36/249) ———————— International 246 (42/204)	Domestic/international medium-long haul US transcontinental Transatlantic and Hawaii	All to be converted to international configuration by 2009 Flat-bed BusinessElite seats to be installed beginning Spring 2009 Largest operator of the Boeing 767
Boeing 777-200ER	8	268 (50/218)	International long haul Transpacific/ transatlantic/ transarctic	Flat-bed BusinessElite seats to be installed beginning Fall 2008
Boeing 777-200LR	2 (6 orders)	276 (43/233)	International ultra-long haul Currently serving JFK-BOM	Features flat-bed BusinessElite seats US launch customer
McDonnell Douglas MD-88	117	Standard 142 (14/128) ———————— Delta Shuttle 134 (134)	Domestic short-medium haul US and Delta Shuttle
McDonnell Douglas MD-90	16	150 (12/138)	Domestic short-medium haul US (all based in Salt Lake City)

^{*First class is offered on domestic flights. BusinessElite is offered on transatlantic and transpacific Flights.}

Delta's average fleet age is 14.0 years as of April 2008. Boeing reports 96 737-800s have been delivered. ^[94] Delta plans to sell all but 2 of its ordered 737-800's immediately upon delivery.^[95]

Delta Air Lines was one of three carriers (American Airlines and Continental Airlines being the other two) to sign an exclusivity agreement with Boeing in the late 1990s. When Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas, the European Union forced Boeing to void the contracts. However, both parties have been adhering to and intend to adhere to the terms under a gentlemen's agreement; thus Delta operates no Airbus equipment.

Delta has been considered by many to be a likely customer for the Boeing 787, considering its large 767 fleet and gentleman's agreement with Boeing. Delta has made bids to become Boeing's provider for 787 maintenance through Boeing's GoldCare support program.^[96]

[edit] Retired fleet

Delta Air Lines Retired Fleet

Aircraft	Year Retired	Replacement	Routes
Convair CV-880	1973	Boeing 727-200	Short-medium haul domestic routes
Boeing 747-100	1976	Lockheed L-1011	Medium-long haul international routes
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10	1977/1989*	Lockheed L-1011 McDonnell Douglas MD-11	Medium-long haul international routes
Douglas DC-8	1988	Boeing 757-200	Medium-long haul international and domestic routes
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30	1992	McDonnell Douglas MD-88	Short haul domestic routes
Airbus A310-200/300[97][98]	1994/1996**	Boeing 767-300ER	Medium-long haul international routes
Lockheed L-1011	2001	Boeing 767-400ER	Medium-long haul international and domestic routes
Boeing 727-200	2003	Boeing 737-800 Boeing 757-200	Short-medium haul domestic routes
McDonnell Douglas MD-11	2004	Boeing 777-200ER (on Asian routes) Boeing 767-400ER (on European routes)	Medium-long haul international and domestic routes
Boeing 767-200	2006	Boeing 757-200 Boeing 767-300	Medium-long haul domestic routes
Boeing 737-200	2006	McDonnell Douglas MD-88	Short-medium haul domestic routes
Boeing 737-300	2006	Boeing 737-800	Short-medium haul domestic routes

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

*Delta operated the DC-10 twice, once on lease from United before the L-1011s could be delivered, and again when Delta acquired Western Airlines in 1987.

**Delta experimented with Airbus A310 aircraft for two to three years after acquiring the planes from Pan Am. Initially Delta was impressed enough with the aircraft to order more of the same model, but these too were eventually withdrawn from service by the mid 1990s.

Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines are the only surviving U.S. airlines that operated the Convair 880, still the fastest family of subsonic passenger aircraft ever, and only behind supersonic carriers such as the Concorde and the Tu-144 in speed.

Delta sold several DC-9-30s to ValuJet, forming ValuJet's initial fleet. ValuJet would eventually become Delta's main Atlanta-based rival, AirTran Airways.

[edit] Fleet prior to the jet era

Up until the late 1960s, Delta Air Lines operated a fleet of propeller operated aircraft, including among others, the Convair 340, Convair 440, Curtiss C-46 Commando, Douglas DC-3, Douglas DC-4, Douglas DC-6, Douglas DC-7, Fairchild Hiller FH-227, Lockheed Constellation, and Lockheed L-100 Hercules. The Curtiss C-46 Commando and Lockheed L-100 Hercules aircraft were operated as cargo aircraft.

[edit] Cabin

On May 1, 2006, the carrier adopted new uniforms from designer Richard Tyler.

Delta started the industry's first comprehensive in-flight recycling program on July 1, 2007. The initial program involved all domestic in-bound flights to its Atlanta hub, and has since expanded to domestic in-bound flights arriving at New York (JFK), Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (CVG), Salt Lake City (SLC), Portland (PDX) and Seattle (SEA) (Federal regulations require the incineration of international waste).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] In-flight entertainment

In the beginning of the jet age when aircraft such as the deHavilland Comet IV and Boeing 707 were introduced, in-flight entertainment other than lounges and magazines was non-existent. Later in the 1960s, audio programming was introduced where passenger wore headphones consisting of hollow tubes piping in music. These were installed in some Delta aircraft. Some early wide-bodied aircraft, including the L-1011 fleet, had films projected on to the cabin bulkhead. The film projection system on the L-1011s were replaced by CRT-based projectors in the early 1990s. Also during the same time period, CRT monitors over the aisles were added to the 757 fleet. The MD-90 introduced Delta's first IFE system with LCD monitors in 1995, and the 777 introduced Delta's first in-seat video system in 1999, initially using the Rockwell Collins Total Entertainment System. Delta's first all-digital IFE system with AVOD (Panasonic eFX) was first introduced in 2003 on Delta's former low-cost subsidiary, Song. The Rockwell Collins IFE system on the 777s was replaced by the Panasonic eFX system in 2007. The Panasonic eFX system is trademarked by Delta as Delta on Demand.

Audio and video are available on all aircraft except for the MD-88s and Delta Connection aircraft. BusinessElite (and the first class section of the domestic 767-400ER aircraft) feature the Total Entertainment System made by Rockwell Collins, featuring personal video screens with a selection of movies. Delta introduced its new IFE product for BusinessElite in 2006, using the all-digital Panasonic eFX AVOD system. 48 Boeing 757s (Transcontinental 752), also using the Panasonic eFX system, feature live television via Dish Network in both first class and economy, while the remainder of the 757 fleet features ceiling-mounted CRT displays over the aisles. The Panasonic eFX with live satellite television is being installed on several aircraft in addition to the 48 757s currently featuring the system, including 28 of the 737-800s, and all 21 domestic 767-300s.

In economy class, Panasonic eFX system (without the satellite TV product) is also found on the 777-200ER and international 767-400ER fleet. The domestic 767-400ER fleet features the Rockwell Collins TES system, but with only overhead-mounted LCD displays and not in-seat video. As the 767-400ER fleet is gradually converted to international duties, the Rockwell Collins TES system will be phased out in favor of the Panasonic eFX system with in-seat video and AVOD.

Delta's 767-300 fleet (both domestic and international) feature CRT projectors in economy class, with the international 767-300ERs also featuring ceiling-mounted CRT displays over the aisles; in addition some of the newer 767-300ER's have ceiling mounted LCD displays. Eventually Delta intends on installing LCD monitors on the entire 767-300ER fleet, replacing the projectors and overhead CRT monitors.^[99] The 737-800 and MD-90 fleet feature drop-down LCD displays below the overhead bins. The IFE on the domestic 767-300s and 28 of the 737-800s will be upgraded to the Panasonic eFX system with live satellite television and AVOD starting September 2007.

Delta's new 777-200LR aircraft feature the Panasonic eX2 system, which has a greater storage capacity over the eFX.^[100] The personal video screens on the 777-200LRs are also larger than those on Delta's other aircraft.

Most of Delta's newly acquired ex-TWA ETOPS 757s currently feature a system made by Sony Transcom (a former subsidiary of Sony now sold to Rockwell Collins) that was factory installed for TWA. The system features overhead drop-down LCD monitors similar to Delta's 737-800s and MD-90s. Delta is currently in the process of replacing the Sony Transcom system with a Panasonic eFX system featuring in-seat video and AVOD at the same time as the new BusinessElite seats and slimline economy class seats are installed.^[101]

In 2006 Delta announced plans to feature docking capability for Apple iPod portable music and video player. If implemented, this will allow the device's battery to be charged, but will also allow integration with Delta's In-flight Entertainment (IFE) system. This will also enable the IFE system to play music, television shows, or movies stored on the iPod, as well as function as a control system.^[102]

[edit] BusinessElite

BusinessElite is Delta's international business class, available on the Boeing 767-300ER, 777-200ER, 777-200LR, and select (eventually all) 767-400ER aircraft. It is also currently being introduced on the ex-AA/TWA ETOPS 757-200 aircraft. All BusinessElite seats (made by B/E Aerospace) on Delta's 767-300ER, 767-400ER, and 777-200ER have 60 inches of pitch, 160 degrees of recline, and either 18.5 (767) or 21 (777-200ER) inches of width. Passengers aboard this class receive complimentary meals, refreshments, and alcohol. All seats are equipped with a personal In-Flight-Entertainment (IFE) system, power-ports, a moveable reading light, and a folding work table. The IFE systems are gradually being converted to on-demand. On the ex-TWA/AA ETOPS 757s, a similar but somewhat different model of BusinessElite seat is being introduced. These seats are instead made by Recaro, and feature a built-in massage feature. These seats feature 55 inches of pitch and are 20 inches wide.

[4]

On March 27, 2007, Delta has announced that they eventually intend on converting its entire 767-400ER fleet to feature BusinessElite seating. During the summer of 2007, 8 out of the 21 767-400ER aircraft will feature BusinessElite seating. An additional 6 767-400ER aircraft will be converted beginning in December 2007.

By 2008, Delta plans to have lie-flat sleeper suites made by Contour Premium in its 777-200LR fleet upon delivery, and by 2009, in all of its 777 fleet.^[103]

On February 5, 2008, Delta has also announced that they will be installing a sleeper suite product on the 767-400ER aircraft.^[104] Designed by Thompson Solutions and manufactured by Contour Premium, these sleeper suites use a space-saving design, with the bottom ends of the seats extending under the armrests of the suites in front when in the full horizontal flat bed position. This allows for minimal reduction in capacity compared to most other sleeper suite products, particularly with the 767's narrower fuselage. The suites will be arranged in a 1-2-1 layout, with a total capacity of 40 BusinessElite suites (down from 42). Delta has stated that eventually all 767 aircraft will feature some form of lie-flat seat.

[edit] Domestic First Class

First Class is offered on domestic flights. It is available on Boeing 737-800, 757-200, MD-88, MD-90, and domestic 767-300 and 767-400 aircraft. Seats range from 18.5-20.75 inches wide, and have between 37-40 inches of pitch. Passengers aboard this class receive complimentary meals, drinks, and alcohol. All Boeing 737-800, domestically-configured 767-400, and select (Transcon) 757-200 aircraft have power-ports at each seat. AC Power ports will be added to the domestic 767-300 fleet starting in the fall of 2007. Delta intends on replacing First Class with BusinessElite on all 767-400 aircraft.

Most of the ex-AA/TWA ETOPS 757 aircraft will initially feature 22 domestic First Class seats that were originally installed by TWA. On international routes, the aircraft will be sold entirely as Economy class. Eventually all of the ETOPS 757s will feature the new Recaro BusinessElite seats.

[edit] International Economy Class

Economy Class is available on all international flights. Seats range from 17 to 18 inches wide, and have between 31 and 33 inches of pitch. A few of the newest 767-300ER and all 767-400ER, 777-200ER, and 777-200LR aircraft feature economy class seats with moveable headrests. The economy class seats on the 777-200ERs also feature mechanically adjustable lumbar support. The economy seats on the 777-200LRs are the new Weber 5751 model slimline seats. These seats are better contoured than the seats on the 777-200ERs and 767-400ERs, allowing for greater passenger comfort, however, they do not feature adjustable lumbar support. The ex-TWA ETOPS 757s are currently receiving a similar model of seat, except without moveable headrests. Passengers aboard this class receive complimentary meals with one alcoholic beverage, refreshments, as well as a mid-flight snack. Additional alcohol may be purchased for $5.

[edit] Domestic Economy Class

Economy Class is available on all domestic flights. Seats range from 17 to 17.5 inches wide, and have between 30 and 33 inches of pitch. Passengers aboard this class receive complimentary drinks and snacks. Food is available for purchase on all fights 1550 miles or more. Alcohol may also be purchased for $5.00. Boeing 737-800 and domestically-configured 767-400 aircraft feature in-seat power. The domestic 767-400 fleet also features seats with moveable headrests, making them the only domestic aircraft in Delta's fleet to feature this amenity. The 737-800 and domestic 767-300 fleet is currently receiving new Weber slimline seats allowing for greater capacity while maintaining sufficient legroom. Unlike the slimline seats on the 777-200LRs, the new seats on the 737-800s and domestic 767-300s do not feature moveable headrests.

[edit] SkyMiles

SkyMiles is Delta's frequent flyer program. Created in 1981^[105] as the "Frequent Flyer Program"; its name was changed to SkyMiles in 1995. When the frequent flyer program was first established in 1981, new members were awarded an enrollment bonus of 10,000 miles. In 2006, SkyMiles was picked as the "best frequent flyer program" in the Best in Business Travel Awards.

In addition to its Delta Connection, Delta Shuttle and SkyTeam alliance partnerships, Delta offers frequent flyer partnerships with the following airlines:

Alaska Airlines Avianca China Airlines Hawaiian Airlines[106] Singapore Airlines

On May 1, 1995, Delta Air Lines modified its frequent flyer program, previously called "Delta Air Lines Frequent Flyer Program" and renamed it "SkyMiles". Miles from the old program would never expire but newly earned miles in the SkyMiles program would if there was no account activity for three years. However, effective January 1, 2007, the rules for SkyMile accounts changed, with miles expiring after two years of no activity. At the same time, the old Frequent Flyer program miles were combined into SkyMiles, effectively negating their unlimited shelf-life.

[edit] Crown Room Club

Delta's airport lounge is the Crown Room Club. Delta Crown Room Clubs are located in 34 airports. Membership can be obtained via an annual pass (purchased using money or SkyMiles) or purchasing a single-visit pass. Delta discontinued the complimentary Crown Room membership for Gold and Platinum Medallion members in 2007.

Membership benefits vary by location, but generally include complimentary drinks (including alcoholic beverages), reading material, and paid wireless Internet access. WiFi is mostly provided by T-Mobile. Other benefits for Crown Room Club members include reciprocal lounge access with other SkyTeam members and Delta's other partners. Some select Crown Room Clubs feature putting greens as a result of Delta Air Lines being the official airline of the PGA Tour.

Delta announced the closing of several Crown Room locations as of April 30th, 2008.

[edit] Codeshare agreements

Delta Air Lines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines as of September 2006:
(This list does not include SkyTeam members).

• Alaska Airlines
• Avianca
• China Airlines
• Royal Air Maroc
• U.S. Helicopter

[edit] Incidents and accidents

The following are major incidents and accidents that occurred on Delta Air Lines mainline aircraft. For Delta Connection incidents, see Delta Connection incidents and accidents.

Delta Air Lines Reported Incidents

Flight	Date	Aircraft	Location	Description	Casualties
					Fatal	Serious	Minor	Uninjured	Ground
N/A [5]	April 22, 1947	DC-3	Columbus, Georgia	A Vultee BT-13, owned by the Tuskegee Aviation Institute landed on top of the DC-3, which was flying from Macon to Columbus.	8				1
705 [6]	March 10, 1948	DC-4	Chicago Midway Airport	Crashed near Chicago Municipal (Midway) Airport shortly after takeoff while en route to Miami. Officials determined that longitudinal control of the airplane was lost resulting in the crash. The cause for the loss of control remains undetermined.	12	1
318 [7]	May 17, 1953	DC-3	Marshall, Texas	Crashed 13 miles east of Marshall, Texas. The flight which originated from Dallas Love Field was on approach to Shreveport, Louisiana. The crash is was attributed to adverse weather conditions with a thunderstorm in the area at the time of the crash.	19	1			1
1903	May 23, 1960	Convair 880	Atlanta	Crashed during a training exercise in Atlanta. The aircraft stalled and crashed killing all four crew members.	4
9877 [8]	March 30, 1967	DC-8	New Orleans	Crashed during a training exercise near New Orleans International Airport. The improper use of flight and power controls by both instructor and the Captain-trainee during a simulated two-engine out landing approach, resulted in the loss of control. The aircraft crashed into a residential area, destroying several homes and a motel complex, killing 13 civilians.	6				13
9570 [9]	May 30, 1972	DC-9	Greater Southwest International Airport	Crashed during landing procedures in Fort Worth, TX. The probable cause of the accident was wake turbulence resulting from a touch-and-go landing moments before of American Airlines Flight 1114, operated using a DC-10. The right wing hit the ground causing a fire resulting in the aircraft being written off.	4
954 [10]	December 20, 1972	Convair 880	Chicago O'Hare Int'l Airport	The Delta CV-880 taxied across runway 27L in bad weather. At the same time, a North Central Airlines DC-9 took off from the same runway. Both aircraft collided.				94	10
723	July 31, 1973	DC-9	Boston Logan International Airport	Crashed in seawall. Contributing to the accident was a defective flight deck instrument giving the crew misleading guidance during the instrument approach in visibility less than a half mile with 500 foot cloud ceilings. Initially 88 occupants died. One person, Leopold Chouinard [11], died from burns months after the accident, leaving no survivors [12].	89
191	August 2, 1985	Lockheed L-1011	Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport	On a Fort Lauderdale-Dallas/Fort Worth-Los Angeles route, the plane crashed due to severe microburst-induced wind shear. One civilian was killed as the plane crossed a highway. The crash would later become the subject of a television movie. Numerous changes to pilot wind shear training, weather forecasting, and wind shear detection were made as a result of this crash and the subsequent investigation.[107]	134	15	12	2	1
1141	August 31, 1988	Boeing 727	Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport	Crashed after takeoff bound for Salt Lake City, Utah. Officials believe the crash was contributed by improper configuration of the flaps and leading edge slats.	14	26	50	18
1288 [13]	July 6, 1996	MD-88	Pensacola Regional Airport	An uncontained engine failure of the port (left) engine on the aircraft which resulted in a fan hub piercing the cabin. The flight was scheduled to fly to Atlanta	2	2	3	135
1989 [14]	September 11, 2001	Boeing 767-300	Enroute from Logan International Airport	Flight 1989, bound for Los Angeles International Airport was caught in the path of United Airlines Flight 93. The two aircraft were so close that ATC were initially confused as to which plane had been hijacked. The Delta pilot managed to avoid United 93 and the flight was later diverted to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.[108]				N/A

[edit] Hijackings

There have been over a dozen attempted hijackings which resulted in no injuries and the surrender of the often lone hijacker. These incidents are not included. The following are notable hijackings because of fatalities or success in forcing the aircraft to fly to another country

• In 1968, a Delta DC-8 was hijacked to Havana, Cuba. This was the first successful hijacking to Cuba from the U.S. since 1961^[109], and was the start of multiple hijacking attempts to Cuba in the late 1960s. This coincided with the introduction of passenger screening using metal detectors in U.S. airports starting in the late 1960s.

• Additional hijackings which resulted in no injuries and the flight landing in Cuba include March 28, 1984 (Delta 357 New Orleans-Dallas 727),^[110] August 18, 1983 (Delta 784 Miami-Tampa 727),^[111] July 17, 1983 (Delta 722 Miami-Tampa 727),^[112] June 11, 1979 (Delta 1061 New York LaGuardia-Fort Lauderdale L1011)^[113]

• July 31, 1972, a Delta flight 841, a Detroit to Miami DC-8 flight, was hijacked to Algiers, Algeria by 8 hijackers. The aircraft stopped in Boston to pick up an international navigator, who was wearing only swimming trunks and a shirt. The flight was allowed to return with passengers to the U.S., stopping in Barcelona for refueling.^[114][115]

• On February 22, 1974, Samuel Byck, an unemployed tire salesman from Pennsylvania, stormed aboard a Delta Air Lines Flight 523, DC-9 flight at Baltimore Friendship Airport (now Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport) scheduled to fly to Atlanta and shot both pilots, killing the First Officer, Fred Jones. He intended to crash the plane into the White House.^[116] After shooting the pilots, the hijacker grabbed a passenger and demanded that she fly the aircraft.^[117]

• On August 23, 1980, a Delta Air Lines L-1011 on a San Juan to Los Angeles flight was hijacked to Cuba.^[118] The hijacker was jailed by Cuban authorities, and all passengers were released unharmed.

• On September 13, 1980, a Delta Air Lines New Orleans to Atlanta flight was taken over by two hijackers and forced to fly to Cuba. The flight continued to Atlanta after stopping in Havana.^[119] The hijackers were imprisoned by Cuban authorities. One hijacker was released and later sought US residency. The suspect was later arrested by US authorities in 2002^[120] and sentenced to prison the following year.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Delta's official blog
• Delta's official YouTube channel
• Delta Air Lines Fleet Age
• Delta Air Lines Route Maps
• Delta Air Lines Seat Maps
• Delta Air Transport Heritage Museum
• Delta Cargo
• Delta DASH
• Sky, Delta's inflight magazine
• Delta Air Lines History
• New Georgia Encyclopedia
• High quality images of historic Delta Timetables

v • d • e Members of SkyTeam Aeroflot • Aeroméxico • Air France • Alitalia • China Southern Airlines • Continental Airlines • Czech Airlines • Delta Air Lines • KLM • Korean Air • Northwest Airlines Associate members: Air Europa • Copa Airlines • Kenya Airways Future associate members: MEA • TAROM

v • d • e Airlines of the United States Airline Carriers AirTran Airways  • Alaska Airlines  • Allegiant Air  • American Airlines  • Continental Airlines  • Delta Air Lines  • Frontier Airlines  • Hawaiian Airlines  • JetBlue Airways  • Midwest Airlines  • Northwest Airlines  • Southwest Airlines  • Spirit Airlines  • Sun Country Airlines  • United Airlines  • US Airways  • USA3000 Airlines  • Virgin America Regional airline brands American Connection  • Continental Connection  • Continental Express  • Delta Connection  • Frontier JetExpress  • go!  • Midwest Connect  • New Mexico Airlines  • Northwest Airlink  • Southern Skyways  • United Express  • US Airways Express Regionals Air Midwest  • Air Wisconsin  • American Eagle Airlines  • Atlantic Southeast Airlines  • Cape Air  • Chautauqua Airlines  • Colgan Air  • Comair  • CommutAir  • Compass Airlines  • Era Aviation  • Executive Airlines  • ExpressJet Airlines  • Freedom Airlines  • GoJet Airlines  • Great Lakes Airlines  • Gulfstream International Airlines  • Horizon Air  • Island Air  • Kenmore Air  • Lynx Aviation  • Mesa Airlines  • Mesaba Airlines  • Mokulele Airlines  • Nantucket Airlines  • Pacific Wings  • PenAir  • Piedmont Airlines  • Pinnacle Airlines  • PSA Airlines  • Republic Airlines  • Shuttle America  • Skyway Airlines  • SkyWest Airlines  • Trans States Airlines  • Vintage Props and Jets Commuter 40-Mile Air  • Alaska Seaplane Service  • Arctic Circle Air  • Bering Air  • Copper River Air Taxi  • Ellis Air Taxi  • Everts Air  • Frontier Flying Service  • Hageland Aviation Services  • Isla Nena Air  • Island Air Service  • L.A.B. Flying Service  • Promech Air  • Servant Air  • Skagway Air Service  • Taquan Air  • Vieques Air Link  • Warbelow's Air Ventures  • Ward Air  • Wings of Alaska  • Wright Air Service Cargo ABX Air  • Air Transport International  • AirNet Express  • Aloha Airlines  • Amerijet International  • Ameristar Air Cargo  • Arrow Air  • Asia Pacific Airlines  • Astar Air Cargo  • Atlas Air  • Capital Cargo International Airlines  • Cargo 360  • Centurion Air Cargo  • Empire Airlines  • Evergreen International Airlines  • Express.Net Airlines  • FedEx Express  • Focus Air Cargo  • Freight Runners  • Gemini Air Cargo  • Kalitta Air  • Kitty Hawk Aircargo  • Northern Air Cargo  • Polar Air Cargo  • Southern Air  • Tepper Aviation  • Tradewinds Airlines  • UPS Airlines  • Wiggins Airways Charter Flexjet  • Delta AirElite  • Empire Airways  • L-3 Flight International Aviation  • Miami Air International  • NetJets  • Omni Air International  • Pace Airlines  • Primaris Airlines  • Ryan International Airlines  • Swift Air  • USA Jet Airlines  • World Airways  • Xtra Airways Defunct airlines of the United States

v • d • e Members of the International Air Transport Association   Africa regional office Air Austral · Air Botswana · Air Madagascar · Air Malawi · Air Mauritius · Air Namibia · Air Seychelles · Air Tanzania · Air Zimbabwe · Airlink · Bellview Airlines · Cameroon Airlines · Comair · Ethiopian Airlines · Interair South Africa · Kenya Airways · LAM Mozambique Airlines · Precision Air · Rwandair Express · Safair · South African Airways · Sudan Airways · TAAG Angola Airlines · Virgin Nigeria Airways · Zambian Airways   Asia-Pacific regional office Air India · Air New Zealand · Air Niugini · Air Pacific · Air Tahiti · Air Tahiti Nui · Air Vanuatu · Aircalin · All Nippon Airways · Asiana Airlines · Bangkok Airways · Biman Bangladesh Airlines · Continental Micronesia · Garuda Indonesia · JALways · Japan Airlines · Jet Airways · Jet Lite · Korean Air · MIAT Mongolian Airlines · Malaysia Airlines · Nippon Cargo Airlines · Philippine Airlines · Qantas · Royal Brunei Airlines · SilkAir · Singapore Airlines · Singapore Airlines Cargo · SriLankan Airlines · Thai Airways International · Vietnam Airlines   China and North Asia regional office Air China · Air Koryo · Air Macau · Cathay Pacific · China Airlines · China Cargo Airlines · China Eastern Airlines · China Southern Airlines · Dragonair · EVA Air · Far Eastern Air Transport · Hainan Airlines · Shandong Airlines · Shanghai Airlines · Shenzhen Airlines · Sichuan Airlines · TransAsia Airways · Xiamen Airlines   Europe regional office Adria Airways · Aegean Airlines · Aer Lingus · Aigle Azur · Air Contractors · Air Europa · Air France · Air Malta · Air Nostrum · Air One · AirBaltic · Airberlin · Alitalia · Alpi Eagles · Atlasjet · Austrian Airlines · B&H Airlines · Binter Canarias · Blue Panorama Airlines · Blue Wings · Blue1 · BMI (airline) · British Airways · Brussels Airlines · Cargolux · Carpatair · CCM Airlines · Cimber Air · Cirrus Airlines · CityJet · Corsairfly · Croatia Airlines · Cyprus Airways · Czech Airlines · Denim Air · DHL Air · Estonian Air · European Air Transport · Eurowings · Finnair · FlyLal · Flybe · Hahn Air · Hellas Jet · Hemus Air · Iberia Airlines · Icelandair · Jat Airways · KLM · LOT Polish Airlines · LTU International · Lauda Air · Lufthansa · Lufthansa Cargo · Lufthansa CityLine · Luxair · MAT Macedonian Airlines · Malmö Aviation · Malév Hungarian Airlines · Meridiana · Montenegro Airlines · Olympic Airlines · Onur Air · Pegasus Airlines · Portugália · SAS · SAS Norge · SATA Air Açores · Skyways Express · Spanair · Swiss International Air Lines · TAP Portugal · TAROM · TNT Airways · TUIfly · Turkish Airlines · Virgin Atlantic Airways · Widerøe   Latin America and the Caribbean regional office Aerolíneas Argentinas · Aeroméxico · Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela · Air Jamaica · ALMA de Mexico · Austral Líneas Aéreas · Avianca · Copa Airlines · Cubana de Aviación · Grupo TACA · Lacsa · LAN Airlines · LAN Argentina · LAN Cargo · LAN Ecuador · LAN Perú · Mexicana de Aviación · PLUNA · Surinam Airways · TAM Airlines · TAM Mercosur · Varig Logística   Middle East and North Africa regional office Afriqiyah Airways · Air Algérie · Air Sénégal International · Arkia Israel Airlines · CAL Cargo Air Lines · Caspian Airlines · DHL International Aviation ME · EgyptAir · El Al · Emirates Airline · Etihad Airways · Gulf Air · Iran Air · Iran Aseman Airlines · Israir Airlines · Jordan Aviation · Kish Air · Kuwait Airways · Libyan Airlines · Mahan Air · Middle East Airlines · Oman Air · Pakistan International Airlines · Qatar Airways · Royal Air Maroc · Royal Jordanian · Saudi Arabian Airlines · Sudan Airways · Syrian Arab Airlines · Tassili Airlines · Tunisair · Yemenia   North America regional office Air Canada · Alaska Airlines · Aloha Airlines · American Airlines · Atlas Air · Cargojet Airways · Continental Airlines · Delta Air Lines · FedEx Express · Northwest Airlines · United Airlines · UPS Airlines · US Airways   Russia and the CIS regional office Aeroflot · Aerosvit Airlines · Air Astana · Air Moldova · Armavia · Azerbaijan Airlines · Belavia · Rossiya · S7 Airlines · Transaero · Ukraine International Airlines · Vladivostok Air · Volga-Dnepr

v • d • e Members of the Air Transport Association ABX Air · AirTran Airways · Alaska Airlines · Aloha Airlines · American Airlines · Astar Air Cargo · Atlas Air · Continental Airlines · Delta Air Lines · Evergreen International Airlines · FedEx Express · Hawaiian Airlines · JetBlue Airways · Midwest Airlines · Northwest Airlines · Southwest Airlines · United Airlines · UPS Airlines · US Airways